Goodwill Discovery Sells for $89,600 at Sotheby’s
A jacket worn by Lakers legend Wilt Chamberlain, discovered decades later by a teenage Goodwill shopper, sold as part of an extremely successful sports auction at Sotheby’s.
Front and back views of Wilt Chamberlain’s 1972 NBA Finals game-worn warm-up jacket, matched to 3 games in the 1972-73 Regular Season, bought for $3 at a Goodwill Outlet, sold for $89,600 at Sotheby’s.
Earlier this month, 19-year-old Quinn Brown made the lucky discovery of a vintage Los Angeles Lakers warm-up jacket at a Goodwill Outlet in Portland, Oregon. His $3 purchase was quickly confirmed to be the jacket worn by Wilt Chamberlain in the 1972-73 NBA season, his last before retiring. The jacket realized $89,600 after 48 bids in the Summer Sports Marquee auction at Sotheby’s New York that ended July 20.
Brown, who has an enterprising spirit as well as an excellent eye, started a resale business in 2023. Sotheby’s reached out to him after finding photos of the Lakers jacket he posted on social media. Although the jacket’s $89,600 sale price doesn’t measure up to its $150,000 presale estimate, it’s an astounding price compared to the mere $3 that Brown bought it for, and to his previous best sale of $250.
The jacket’s discovery and sale make an eye-catching example of two major trends in the vintage and collectibles world: The exploding popularity of vintage clothing among young adults, and the significance of provenance, especially when linked to a well-known name or important cultural event.
Despite the jacket falling short of its estimate, two other pieces of Wilt Chamberlain memorabilia made the auction’s top lots, according to data analytics company Pricing Culture. These were the scoresheet from Chamberlain’s “100 Point Game” when he played for the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1961-1962 season and the jersey he wore for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1967-1968 Eastern Division Semifinals game.
Other sports were well represented in the auction, with Aaron Judge’s “Rookie Debut” New York Yankees jersey from 2016 taking the top spot at $1.8 million.
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